A travel industry veteran in northern California looks at airlines, trains, hotels, car rentals, and destinations. It's more Marriott than Machu Pichu, more Amtrak than Antarctica - in other words it's everyday travel and not the exotic. And running.

04 October 2011

Amtrak has extensive online and print resources for learning more about their onboard service so this post will be concise and without photos.

For Amtrak's own resources, start with this page on their website for detailed information about onboard service.

And if you want to peruse non-Amtrak sources take a look at the posts at Amtrak Unlimited, an online discussion forum that consists mostly of guys passionate about trains. You can pose questions, too, though you need to register as a member in order to do that. My guess is that someone there will take a stab at your question if you don't find the answer first by searching through the existing topics.

For years Amtrak has produced what it used to call the Travel Planner, but now simply calls Amtrak America. It has always been one of the best travel industry print resources I've seen, and you can order a copy at no charge. Online information is handy, but I think a printed format is more useful for leisurely research. Go to this page on Amtrak's website to order Amtrak America, and other useful print publications including a system timetable and Amtrak Vacations (package tours) brochure.

For the full story consult the resources I've suggested above, but I'll provide some basic information below.

Coach

Seating is 2 seats on either side of the aisle. Amtrak does not preassign specific seats for coach travel, but unlike when you fly, there isn't any chance on Amtrak that you'll get a middle seat because they don't exist. No other amenities are included, but most short distance trains have offer some form of meal and beverage service for purchase. (For travel on Auto Train only, meals are included in the price of a coach ticket.)

Reserved coach seating can be considered similar to how Southwest Airlines operates. Seats are never preassigned, but Amtrak only sells the number of seats that are actually available on the train. When you board you pick your own seat. (On some long-distance trains conductors will direct passengers to specific cars depending on the destination.)

Unreserved coach seating is sold on high-frequency short-distance routes including Harrisburg-Philadelphia, Chicago-Milwaukee, Los Angeles-San Diego/Santa Barbara, Sacramento-Oakland-San Jose, among others. No actually count is maintained of seats sold so in theory it is possible there could be standing passengers. In practice it happens seldom because Amtrak tries to gauge demand from historical patterns and supply enough equipment to meet that demand. Still, during busy holiday periods these trains can be very crowded and have standees. On trains such as the Pacific Surfliners where unreserved coach and reserved business class are offered, it would be wise to pay a little extra and be assured of a seat.

Business class

Business class is offered on Amtrak's Acela Express service in the Northeast, the Northeast Regional service, some other trains in the East and Midwest, the Pacific Surfliner service in southern California, and the Cascades service in the Pacific Northwest. The amenities vary from route to route, but can include (though not always) more legroom, a newspaper, and some kind of beverage or snack service.

On the Cascades service only, the business class eating configuration is 2-and-1 on either side of the aisle, so single travelers can enjoy both more legroom and a seat by themselves. In all other markets the seating configuration in business class is 2-and-2 as in coach, though in some markets the pitch (the space between seats) will be greater in business class.

First class

This is akin to first class in the air, and is offered solely on Amtrak's higher-speed Acela Express service in the Northeast between Boston, New York, Washington D.C., and intermediate cities.

Seating is configured on a 2-and-1 basis, providing individual travelers with the opportunity to enjoy a seat by themselves.

At-seat meal and beverage service (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) is included in the price of the ticket.

In Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C., first-class passengers have access to the ClubAcela lounge before departure or after arrival.

Most eastern long-distance trains have single-level Viewliner equipment, which includes

- Bedroom- Roomette- Accessible Bedroom

Some of the adjoining Bedroom accommodations on both Superliner and Viewliner equipment can be combined to create a two-bedroom suite by removing an interior wall.

On both Superliner and Viewliner sleeping cars, the bedroom has a toilet, sink, and shower within each room. Both Superliner and Viewliner accessible rooms have a toilet and sink within the room, though only the Viewliner accessible rooms have a shower.

Superliner roomettes do not have a toiler or sink in each room, but the Viewliner roomettes do. Family bedrooms do not have a toilet, sink, or shower.

On the upper level of Superliner cars, there is a small bathroom with a toiler and sink for the passengers in upper level roomettes, and on the lower level are several bathrooms and changing rooms, as well as a bathroom with a good size shower for the use of all sleeping car passengers. Viewliner sleepers have a shower for the use of passengers in roomettes.

Rooms are made up for night occupancy by the each sleeping car's attendant, who also sets up coffee and orange juice in the morning for his or her car. In the morning, bed linens are replaced, and the room remade for day occupancy by the attendant.

All passengers in sleeping car accommodations have their regular meals (not including alcoholic drinks) included in the price of their tickets. Most passengers take their meals in the dining car, but the sleeping car attendant will also bring meals back to the car on request. (Sleeping car passengers on the Coast Starlight also have the option of eating in the Pacific Parlour Car, the lounge car unique to this train and only for first-class passengers.)

Sleeping car passengers are allowed access to the ClubAcela first-class lounges in the Northeast, and the Metropolitan Lounge located in Chicago and Portland, Ore. The lounge in Chicago is especially useful, because this is the only point where long-distance trains from the east and the west make same day connections. It's a very busy train station, so it's nice to have a quiet place to wait between trains.

If you have never seen Amtrak's sleeping accommodations and are considering a long-distance excursion by train, I recommend that you experience them or at least see them on a short, daytime trip. The rooms, even the larger ones like the bedroom, are quite small. By investing a small amount of time and money on a quick reconnaisance trip, you will be far better prepared for that big overnight or cross-country journey.

For example, if you live in Seattle, then take the train to Portland for the day or a weekend. Or if you live in the Bay Area, take the California Zephyr to Sacramento or the Coast Starlight to Salinas. Even though it's not overnight, you could book a sleeper and it might not be that expensive (remember it includes meals), or if you traveled coach you could ask an Amtrak employee if he or she could show you the sleeping accommodations.

It would be money well-spent, not to mention an enjoyable small trip just by itself.

With that I conclude the first part of the Amtrak Service and Fares series. You should now have a basic understanding of Amtrak's history, routes, and service, so we can move forward to an explanation of how Amtrak's fares work.

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About Me

I've been in the travel industry on and off - mostly on - since 1979. Employers have included airlines, Amtrak, and AAA. In 2009 I began my own enterprise specializing in booking hotel reservations for individual business travelers and small firms. It saves the traveler (or an assistant) the time and trouble of researching hotel rates and locations, and is free to the traveler. Contact me at HotelsAndTrains-at-live.com for more information.